Sara Taketatsu, a rising senior, is interning this summer with , known simply as [bc],聽in Brownsville, Texas. Taketatsu discovered this internship opportunity through Environmental Design Assistant Professor Danielle Rivera, who worked in Brownsville as part of her dissertation research. Taketatsu has the privilege of working under , managing director of [bc].
Brownsville is located in the Rio Grande Valley next to the Mexican border. Many Brownsville residents live in colonias. Colonias are informal communities that exist along the United States and Mexico border that lack basic infrastructure such as running water and electricity. Colonias are also subject to extreme flooding and the residents often don鈥檛 have basic amenities. [bc] is a non-profit community design center that is working on improving the standard of living for residents of the colonias. [bc] focuses on empowering local residents to create change through education and choice rather than imposing solutions on them.
(The Sound of the Water) is one project that is empowering residents to create change within their communities. This project is a collaboration between [bc] and , a non-profit that places high importance on arts and culture in community planning. Local corrido (narrative ballad) writers and conjunto (Southern Texas working class) musicians have been commissioned to lead workshops with residents from two colonias in order to collectively write corridos that tell their flooding and stormwater stories. The goal of the project is to use these songs to address issues of housing inequality and lack of human rights. Taketatsu has been coordinating many aspects of the project for [bc] including organizing meetings with project partners, creating flyers and worksheets for the workshops, interviewing residents, photographing and taking videos of the workshops.
One other major project that Taketatsu is helping with is the in Brownsville. A portion of the trail has already been built and she is helping with the design for an extension of the trail. The Belden Trail was once an old railroad and is now a one mile linear park that connects three historic neighborhoods and two parks. The Belden Bike and Pedestrian Trail is the first of its kind in Brownsville.
Taketatsu has gained many useful skills this summer. In addition to learning more about how to use computer programs like Archicad, Autocad and InDesign, she has learned all the intricacies that go into making large-scale community projects and events happen. Taketatsu hopes to use her experience at [bc] and the skills she has acquired through her architecture specialization to continue doing community-based design work in the future.
[bc] is very excited to grow their internship program and this new relationship with Environmental Design. According to Erickson, [bc]聽looks for interns that want to come in and work hard, have passion for community and are diligent and detail-oriented. They also look for students who are interested in learning and exploring possibilities.
If you are interested in interning for [bc], please contact our Professional Development Center:
Emily Lawrence, Professional Development Coordinator
贰尘补颈濒:听emily.b.lawrence@colorado.edu
Nate Jones, Professional Development Coordinator
贰尘补颈濒:听nathan.p.jones@colorado.edu
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